This article is the first in a new column about Balboa Park’s places and spaces.
Whenever I visit the Marston House at 7th and Upas in Balboa Park, I immediately gravitate toward the trees and the vast lawn. First, I stop by the trees of which I still do not know their name; I simply call them the “twisted trunk trees” for their hobbit-esque appearance. The trees are a good place to hide and dream and soak up the coolness on a warm day. They also provide a bit of shelter if it’s sprinkling. They are trees to befriend.
The other prominent trees on the property of the Marston House, which became a museum and gifted to the City of San Diego in 1987, are Canary Island pines and live oaks situated around the bright green sweep of lawn. You’ll often find one or two people tossing a ball to their dog gleefully running back and forth catching it. Little children sometimes will roll down the hill as in the olden days when playing outdoors was the way of life.
In the treetops, you can hear the chirping and cheeping of big and small birds, from crows to black phoebes to song sparrows. You can’t help but feel happy and miles away from bustle, even though you can hear below the property the rush of traffic on Highway 163. Behind the Marston House stands century-old eucalyptus trees; their grandeur will make you feel small yet grateful.
Easy to overlook unless you know Balboa Park well, the house is tucked away off the corner of 7th and Upas Drive. The house is a mini-mansion, the former home of George Marston, who was a prominent San Diego community leader and owner of Marston’s Department Store. From 1878 to 1961, Marston’s store was regarded as one of the finest establishments and cultivated meeting place for all San Diego’s people.
George Marston is noted for many things but most prominently as a civic leader whose interest and work in historic preservation, conservation and history is well known. He also had a great love for plants and animals, particularly of birds. He enjoyed studying their characteristics and behavior. Marston deeply appreciated San Diego for its great diversity of creatures and its perfect climate to grow nearly anything and everything.
Constructed in 1905 for Marston and his wife, Anna, the home is one of the most cherished Arts and Crafts homes of the time. The property, located at 3525 Seventh Avenue, was designed and built by the internationally renowned architects William Sterling Hebbard and Irving Gill, the latter of whom built several homes in close proximity to the Marston House.
Surrounded by five acres of rolling lawns, manicured formal gardens, and rustic canyon gardens, this 8,500 square foot home includes a hot house, a rose arbor, and a perimeter brick wall in the north garden. In the northern garden, the colorful flower beds are a sight to behold with roses of every color blossoming in spring and summer. A tile-decorated tea house and a wall fountain complete the picture of genteel living in early 1900s San Diego.
From the belvedere, you can see the deep woods where countless, invisible birds and butterflies reside. Curving cobble paths wend their way down the sloped eastern section of the property. Almost impossible it is to imagine that the area around the Marston House—any part of Balboa Park, for that matter—was once a barren and dry place.
It was Marston’s love for green and growing things that led him to horticulturist Kate Sessions, often referred to as “The Mother of Balboa Park,” advising him on the original planting scheme and design. Since 1974, the property has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today the Marston House is a must-see for visitors to the area and San Diego residents alike. The intimate glimpse into the life of a prominent family man—he was the father of five children who carried on the tradition of philanthropy and a deeply involved civic life—helps us grasp the how and why of San Diego’s Balboa Park developing into the one-of a kind park that it is now.
Tours of the Marston House are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. Lasting approximately forty-five minutes, the tours cost $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, military and students. Call (619) 297-9327 for more information.
— Cynthia G. Robertson is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer, putting together interesting and informative articles for more than 30 years. Her stories, essays and poems have also been published in “Acorn Review” and several anthologies, including “Six Feet Apart…in the Time of Corona.” She blogs about her observations of nature and spirituality, and in 2019, she penned her first novel, “Where You See Forever.” Find out more at www.cynthiarobertson.com.
Other articles on Marston House by SDNews:
https://sdnews.com/hats-off-to-marstons/
Marston House Museum & Gardens: Un lugar mágico en Bankers Hill
